


Silver Sucks

by Tahlruil



Series: Of Avengers and Wolves [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Getting Together, How Do I Tag, M/M, Pre-Slash, Secrets Revealed, Silver Burns, Steve doesn't know, Werewolf Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 03:44:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11660949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahlruil/pseuds/Tahlruil
Summary: Tony has managed to hide the fact that he's a werewolf all his life. He's almost perfectly in control, even in battle situations that would otherwise bring his wolf to the surface. Since the Avengers moved in, he's been dreading the day his secret would get out. He's worried and planned and obsessed over all the ways it could happen... but it's always the things you don't anticipate that get you in the end.For my 'wolf' prompt.





	Silver Sucks

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. I wrote this in like, an hour and half, so please forgive any errors. XD Also, I don't really know which universe this is actually set in, so I just tagged it MCU because I don't know why. D: It doesn't quite fit anywhere, so whatevs.
> 
> I've seen tons of werewolf Steve, but werewolf Tony seems to be rarer, so I decided to go that route. It's short, but I needed to get it dooone. Might come back and flesh it out someday in the far future. XD
> 
> Comments maybe? <3

It wasn’t the moon that gave him away, because he was old enough to be in control of his transformations. He’d worried, in the beginning, that one day he might lose control in the midst of battle - aggression and physical confrontation tended to bring out the wolf in him. But while he’d sometimes needed to go off on his own to run and hunt after a fight, he’d never lost it in the field. When the Avengers had been elevated to pack in his wolf’s eyes, he’d been concerned his behaviors would be a dead giveaway. Thankfully, he was known far and wide for being a little… eccentric. His need to touch his packmates so their scents were mingled and his constant insistence on knowing exactly where they all were were seen as just more Tony Stark Weirdness™, as were all the other quirks of his wolf.

None of the things he’d actually been worried about had betrayed him.In the end, it was something so little and stupid that he hadn’t thought to prepare for it.

The kindness of one Steve Rogers had been his undoing, and had shattered the illusion that he was human.

Steve had been so excited to give him the heavy, beautifully crafted chain bracelet. ‘It made me think of you’ he’d said, all earnest eagerness and shining eyes. They’d been dancing around each other since they’d first met - Tony was sure they were meant to be. So with Steve beaming at him and his inner wolf howling with joy at receiving a gift from his mate, Tony couldn’t refuse. Not even with the uneasy, slightly queasy feeling he got in his stomach when he looked at it.

Who the fuck made jewelry out of pure silver anymore anyway? There were almost always just enough impurities that touching it wasn’t a problem, so Tony had stopped worrying about it - that had been a mistake.

As soon as Steve had put it on him (an action that made his wolf demand he claim his mate _now_ ), Tony had known. He smiled at Steve through the pain, thanking him sincerely for the gift. DIdn’t matter that it was giving him a rash that would soon turn to burns and then blisters. What mattered was that _Steve had thought of him_ and gotten him a present. Once his mate left, he could take it off and treat the gift with a solution that would create a clear coating over the silver, keeping it from touching his skin. That way he could wear the gift with pride and show Steve how much it meant to him. Because he did love it, and Steve had gotten it just for him.

He might have gotten away with it, if the bracelet hadn’t contained one tiny imperfection. A very small but sharp point hadn’t been completely filed down - when he lifted his hand to clap Steve’s shoulder in thanks, it cut into his flesh.

The yelp he let out was more animal than human, but he didn’t have time to worry about Steve’s reaction. He was too busy scrabbling for the clasp of the bracelet with his other hand, unwilling to just rip it off and destroy a gift from his mate. It _burned_ , his blood turning to fire in his veins as the site of the cut went completely numb. It wasn’t enough to kill him or even make him seriously ill, but it was going to hurt like a bitch for the next few hours.

When he finally managed to get the bracelet off, he had painful blisters going around his wrist. The skin around the actual cut was inflamed and an angry red… but the very edges of the cut had turned black, and the color was slowly spreading outward as his skin reacted to the silver. He heard Steve’s cry of dismay and concern, but he couldn’t focus on soothing the man just then. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped his other hand around his wrist against the throbbing pain then practically ran for the workshop’s sink. Once he’d turned it on, he stuck his wrist under the stream of cold water… and a harsh hissing sound filled the air as steam billowed around him.

He could feel sweat beading on his brow, but the water at least slowed the spreading pain. It was the best he could do just then, even if it didn’t help very much. After a few seconds, he heard Steve approach him, steps slow and hesitant. While the human part of him knew he owed Steve an explanation, and that he should soothe and reassure the man. The wolf in him, however, only wanted a bit of comfort from his mate. As soon as he could feel Steve behind him, Tony half-turned to bury his face in Steve’s shoulder, a whine leaving his throat that was noticeably canine in nature.

Tony felt Steve go stiff at first, but then one of his hands lifted to slide into Tony’s hair. He started to stroke Tony’s hair and gently scratch his scalp, which was just awesome. It was almost enough to make him forget the burning sensation that was slowly creeping up his arm; it was enough to let him pull his wrist out of the water. To encourage those amazing fingers to continue, he began to nose at Steve’s collarbone and only just managed not to deliver a small nip or lick of affection. Part of him was deeply pleased at his mate’s willingness to comfort him despite the confusion and discomfort Tony could practically scent on him. That feeling started a happy rumble in his chest, and that seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Tony?” Steves voice was a whisper and his hand had stilled, which was upsetting. “What’s… what’s going on?” Sighing, Tony shifted his head to breathe Steve in.

“‘M a werewolf.” Tony mumbled against his neck. “Surprise.”

“Tony! I gave you silver!” Steve sounded stricken at the realization, and Tony’s wolf didn’t like that at all. This time he couldn’t stop himself from lapping gently a few times at the hollow of Steve’s throat, trying to soothe him. The man shivered and seemed to tense, causing Tony to bite back an anxious whine at the sign Steve was uncomfortable. “Why didn’t you tell me? And why the hell did you keep the bracelet on for so long while it was hurting you?!”

“I was going to tell you. I was just waiting. Until we… and of course I kept it on. It was a gift from you.”

“But it _hurt_ you Tony, and you didn’t take it off. You shouldn’t have even accepted it once you knew what it was!” 

Tony growled at the very thought of refusing a gift from his mate; instead of pulling away like some would, Steve just started petting his hair again. “It was a gift from _you_ ,” he stressed, gently nosing Steve’s neck. “I’d never turn down anything you gave me.”

“Tony…” Steve sounded both fond and exasperated. Tony didn’t blame him in the slightest. “Please don’t accept things from me that are dangerous to your health. I don’t… I don’t like being the reason you’re hurting.”

“But you’re-” he snapped his mouth shut and hid his face in the crook of Steve’s neck, giving a quiet whine.

“I’m… what? And why were you waiting to tell me? Did you not… Tony, I hope you know you can trust me. With anything.”

“I do! Of course I trust you. You’re…” Knowing Steve wouldn’t let the issue go, he cringed in anticipation of Steve’s reaction and finished the thought. “Mate. Mine.” The words were growled so softly even Steve would have trouble making them out. From the way Steve stiffened though, he clearly had. Tony’s teeth fairly itched with the urge to put a claiming mark on the man now that he’d made a verbal claim. Steve’s neck would look so pretty decorated with Tony’s bite. But no - he couldn’t. Not without Steve’s informed permission.

“I… Tony that’s… mate?” The last word was little more than a squeak. He had to be uncomfortable and overwhelmed, and Tony was a terrible mate for springing this on him like this.

“Sorry.” As he spoke, Tony pulled away despite his wolf’s strenuous objections. “I didn’t mean to… you don’t have to… I just. We were, you know. You do know, don’t you? I should have maybe told you sooner, but I didn’t want… I thought it would be better to wait until we were… We were heading towards being an ‘us’... weren’t we?” When he peeked up at Steve’s face, he was surprised and relieved by the soft expression he found there.

“Only problem with that is the past tense you’re using.”

“... yeah?”

“Yeah.” Steve reached out, just a bit of hesitance in the gesture, and pulled Tony back toward him. He cupped the back of Tony’s head, then tucked it back against his neck. “I’ve been looking forward to getting there. This doesn’t change that Tony. I just… I _need_ you to tell me about what it means for you to be a werewolf, because I couldn’t bear hurting you again. Please.”

“I can do that. Definitely. Absolutely.”

“And… and I want to know more about. Uh. Mates. What that means for us.” Steve was blushing and biting his lower lip, looking hopeful and intrigued. Fuck. Tony wanted to mark him, then bare his neck to Steve to receive a bite in return.

“Yeah, okay. Sure.” His attempt to hide how excited he was behind nonchalance was completely transparent if Steve’s chuckle was anything to go by.

“Can we maybe start now? I could help you ice your wrist while you talk, if that would help.”

“Not ice - cold water is good, but ice is too much and burns in a different way. But… maybe. If you didn’t mind. You could… uh.”

“What do you need Tony?”

“If we had a bowl of cold water to bathe it in, that would. You know. Help a little. You could maybe do that. But you don’t have to. I could manage.”

“I’d like to, actually. It’s my fault you’re hurting.” Before Tony could refute that, Steve looked at him from under his lashes, a blush on his cheek. “And after you explain things… maybe we could speed up the process of getting to an ‘us’. I wouldn’t mind getting there a little faster.”

“I’d really, really like that.” Steve gave him a smile that was nearly angelic, then stepped back and took hold of Tony’s (mostly, except for tiny burns on his fingertips) uninjured hand. As they headed up to the penthouse, where his mate would take care of him, Tony decided maybe being outed as a wolf wasn’t the worst thing ever.

And maybe silver wasn’t entirely evil and painful. At least not when it came from Steve.


End file.
